THE TRIAL OF TEMPTATION
BREAD
12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. 1 Corinthians 10:12-13 (NIV)
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. Matthew 6:13 (NIV)
41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” Matthew 26:41 (NIV)
“Could you not keep watch for one hour? 38 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” Mark 14:37-38 (NIV)
21 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22 The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! 24 No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” Matthew 6:21-24 (NIV)
6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 1 Timothy 6:6-10 (NIV)
13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. James 1:13-15 (NIV)
BUTTER
“Satan doesn’t surrender his prey without a fight. He comes racing after the converted soul, chariot wheels churning the dust, seeking to discourage you, to defeat you. He pursues you with the intensity of Pharaoh. He may use your old friends, a spot of persecution, or discouraging responses by your family. He may show you a hypocrite in the church or afflict you with a general slacking of zeal. He may launch a missile of temptation right at your heart or fire a volley of trials and troubles into your life.” Robert J. Morgan
“Be thoroughly acquainted with your temptations and the things that may corrupt you.” Richard Baxter
“We need to keep our heart full of a sense of the love of God. This is the greatest perspective available to us against the power of temptation in the world…Fill your heart with a sense of the love of God in Christ, and apply the eternal design of grace and shed blood to yourselves. Accept all the privileges of adoption, justification, and acceptance with God. Fill your heart with thoughts of the beauty of holiness…then in the ordinary course of walking with God, you will experience great peace and security from temptation.” John Owen
“Every time we resist the slightest temptation, we honor God. Every time we overcome even the smallest problem by trusting and obeying our Lord Jesus, God is glorified in our lives. Whenever we choose character over convenience, faithfulness over ease, or honesty over deceit, we bring honor to the Lord Himself.” Robert J. Morgan
“To realize God’s presence is the one sovereign remedy against temptation.” Francois Fenelon
“Contrary to the world’s beliefs, the spiritual fruit of self-control does not come about through the discipline of self-mastery, but rather through surrendering ourselves to God’s control. None of us fully have the power, capability, or wisdom to master our own lives. You cannot resist all the temptations that are hurled at you, control the behavior of those closest to you, or limit the ideas that pop into your mind. What you can do is surrender your life to the Holy Spirit. You can control how you respond, yield, and submit to Him.” Michael Youssef
“Temptation has its source not in the outer lure but in the inner lust.” D. Edmond Hiebert
“Every temptation leaves us better or worse; neutrality is impossible.” Erwin Lutzer
HEART SAVOR
• I must watch and pray against temptation. I easily fall into sin yet holiness is a pursuit.
• God will not let me be tempted beyond what I can bear but will provide a way for my escape so that I can stand.
• Contentment is great gain. When I am enticed by my own evil desires it gives birth to sin.
Beth Yoe's Sharing Bread 